Input tools having viobro-acoustically distinct regions and computing device for use with the same

ABSTRACT

An input tool includes a body in the form of a stylus with plurality of vibro-acoustically distinct regions. The vibro-acoustically distinct regions produce vibro-acoustic responses when the regions touch the surface of the touch screen. The vibro-acoustic responses are used in a computing device to detect what region of the input tool was used.

TECHNICLAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a passive input tool; and moreparticularly, to an input tool having vibro-acoustically distinctregions and a computing device for use with the input tool.

BACKGROUND ART

Many technologies exist that have the ability to digitize differenttypes of input. There are two main touch sensing approaches: active andpassive. Passive devices include those that are receptive in apredictable manner to resistive, capacitive, acoustic surface wave, orelectro-optical variations due to contact or touch by, for instance, ahuman finger or a stylus. Active devices include inductive and RFdevices.

The key downside of active approaches is that an explicit object must beused (e.g., a special pen), which is implemented with electronics (andpotentially batteries). This is more complex to manufacture. Forexample, pens augmented with infrared light emitters on their tips canbe used on the commercially available Microsoft Surface.

Therefore, there is a need to construct a passive input tool without theneed for electronics (including e.g., indirectly or wireless powered orEM coupled components including coils) or other active components.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, the present invention provides input tools havinga plurality of vibro-acoustically distinct regions and a computingdevice interacting with the input tools.

In accordance with an aspect of the embodiment, there is provided aninput tool for interacting with a touch screen, the input toolincluding:

-   -   a body in the form of a stylus, the body having one or more        vibro-acoustically distinct regions, wherein each        vibro-acoustically distinct region produces a discrete        vibro-acoustic signal when it touches a surface of the touch        screen, and the vibro-acoustic signal is used to detect what        region of the input tool was used.

In accordance with another aspect of the embodiment, there is provided acomputing device including:

-   -   a touch screen; an input tool having a body with one or more        vibro-acoustically distinct regions, wherein each        vibro-acoustically distinct region produces a discrete        vibro-acoustic signal when it touches a surface of the touch        screen; a touch event detector configured to detect the        vibro-acoustic signal resulting from the touch of the        vibro-acoustically distinct region; and a vibro-acoustic        classifier configured to distinguish which region of the input        tool was used using the vibro-acoustic signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description of the embodiments givenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A to 1G illustrate a variety of passive input tools withvibro-acoustically distinct regions in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device that candistinguish regions of the passive input tools shown in FIGS. 1A to 1Gin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The advantages and features of exemplary embodiments and methods ofaccomplishing these will be clearly understood from the followingembodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited and may beimplemented in various forms. It should be noted that the presentembodiments are provided to make a full disclosure and also to allowthose skilled in the art to understand the full range of the exemplaryembodiments. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments are to be defined onlyby the scope of the appended claims.

FIGS. 1A to 1G illustrate a variety of input tools withvibro-acoustically distinct regions that interact with a touch screen inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

In general, a touch screen is an electronic visual display that a usercan control through single or multi-touch gestures by touching thescreen with one or more fingers. Some touch screens can also detect anobject such as an input tool in the form of a stylus, which is optionalfor most modern touch screens. The touch screen enables the user tointeract directly with what is displayed, rather than using a mouse,through the use of the input tool or the finger. Touch screens arecommon in devices such as game consoles, all-in-one computers, tabletcomputers, smartphones, and the like.

The input tool of one exemplary embodiment is entirely passive, i.e.,made of solid, passive materials. The input tool has vibro-acousticallydistinct regions that can be used on a variety of input surfacetechnologies, including capacitive, resistive, acoustic and infraredbased screens. When such a tool touches a surface of the touch screen,it produces a vibro-acoustic response, both in the air, in the tool, andmechanical vibrations inside the contacting surface (especially when thelatter is ridgid). By using different materials, material properties,coatings, and surface treatments, it is possible to construct passivetools) with vibro-acoustically distinct regions. Referring to thedrawings, FIG. 1A illustrates a passive input tool having a body 10 inthe form of a two ended stylus. The body 10 has one or more discretematerial regions 12 and 14 at either end, which switch along the primaryaxis of the body 10. The discrete material regions 12 and 14 may beconstructed by using different materials, e.g., steel, aluminum, orrubber, or material properties. It is noted that these distinct regionsare controlled and engineered to have particular vibro-acousticproperties.

In one exemplary embodiment, the passive input tool may be used in anapplication for drawing and erasing functionality, fine drawing andhighlighting functionality, fine drawing and thick brush functionality,or summoning a contextual menu.

FIG. 1B illustrates a passive input tool having a body 20 in the form ofan elongated stylus. The body 20 has one or more discrete materialregion or tip such as a small tip 22 at one end whose material isdifferent from that of the main body 20 of the passive input tool. Inone exemplary embodiment, this tool may be used in an application fordrawing and erasing functionality, fine drawing and highlightingfunctionality, fine drawing and thick brush functionality, or summoninga contextual menu.

Alternatively, different material properties (e.g., rubber density,cold-rolled steel), coatings (e.g., galvanized, rubberized, hard clearcoat), and surface treatments (e.g., heat-treated, brushed, pitted) mayalso be used in the different regions or tips.

FIG. 1C illustrates a passive input tool having a body 30 in the form ofan elongated stylus. The body 30 has one or more discrete materialregions through the entire body, which exhibit continuously varyingmaterial properties, e.g., a heat-treatment gradient. In one exemplaryembodiment, this tool may be used in an application for a drawing anderasing functionality, fine drawing and highlighting functionality, finedrawing and thick brush functionality, or summoning a contextual menu.

FIG. 1D illustrates a passive input tool having a body 40 in the form ofa stylus. The body 40 has one or more discrete material regions such asswappable tips 42 or regions for which, for example, a magnetic clip orscrew mount is formed at one end of the body 40. The swappable tips 42may have different materials or different material properties, whichcould be used for different tasks.

FIG. 1E illustrates a passive input tool having a body 50 in the form ofa multi-ended stylus (e.g., X-shaped stylus). The body 50 has one ormore discrete material regions 52 or tips at branched ends of the body.

FIG. 1F illustrates a passive input tool having a body 60 in the form ofa pen-shaped stylus. The body 60 has one or more discrete materialregions or tips such as a two-sided tip 62 or region at one end. Thetwo-sided region 62 or tip may have different materials or differentmaterial properties. It is also possible for a stylus to have three,four or more materials in one tip.

FIG. 1G illustrates a passive input tool having a body 70 in the form ofa stylus. The body 70 has discrete material regions or tips such asretractable regions 72 or tips at one end. The retractable regions 72 ortips may have different materials or different material properties.

When an object strikes a certain material, vibro-acoustic wavespropagate outward through the material on the surface of the material.Typically, interactive surfaces use rigid materials, such as plastic orglass, which both quickly distribute and faithfully preserve the signal.As described above, when the respective regions of the input tool shownin FIGS. 1A to 1G touch a surface of a touch screen, vibro-acousticresponses are produced, which have different characteristics relating tothe material of which they are composed. Because different regions ofthe input tool are vibro-acoustically distinct, it is possible to detectwhat part of the input tool was used. This relies on the physicalprinciple that different materials produce different vibro-acousticfeatures and have different resonant frequencies.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device for use withthe input tools illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1G.

The computing device includes the touch screen that interacts with theinput tools as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1G. The computing device detectsdifferent vibro-acoustic responses resulting from the regions or thetips of the input tool touching the touch screen and classifies whatregions or tips were used.

The computing device of exemplary embodiments may have an operatingsystem (OS), and can run various types of application software, known asapps. The computing device may also be equipped with a telecommunicationcapability that can allow connections to the communication network. Sucha computing device may include, but not limited to, a table top computer(e.g., Surface Computing), laptop computer, desktop computer, mobilecomputer, mobile internet device, mobile phone, smart-phone, PDA(Personal Digital Assistant), game console, portable media player, andthe like.

Referring to FIG. 2, the computing device includes a touch screen 100, atouch event detector 110, a vibro-acoustic classifier 120, and anoperating system (OS) 130.

The touch screen 100 is an electronic visual display and serves also aninput/out device supplementing or substituted for a keyboard, a mouse,and/or other input devices. The touch screen 100 is sensitive to touchcontacts; a user interacts with the user interface by touchinginteractive elements, such as pictures or words displayed on the touchscreen with tips or regions of the input tool or a finger. When there isa touch event that a tip or region of the input tool touches a surfaceof the touch screen 100, a vibro-acoustic signal is generated due to thetouch event.

The touch event detector 110 detects the touch event using the inputtool. The touch event detector 110, for example, may be arranged at arear side of the touch screen 100 so that the vibro-acoustic signalcaused by the touch event can be captured.

The touch event detector 110 can be triggered by the onset of avitro-acoustic response resulting from the input tool touching the touchscreen 100. To capture the touch event and subsequent vibro-acousticsignals, the touch event detector 110 may include one or more impactsensors, vibration sensors, accelerometers, strain gauges, or acousticsensors such as a condenser microphone, a piezoelectric microphone, MEMSmicrophone and the like.

Once the vibro-acoustic signal has been captured by the touch eventdetector 110, the vibro-acoustic classifier 120 processes thevibro-acoustic signal to distinguish which tip or region of the inputtool was used. Based on the distinguished tip or region of the inputtool, the vibro-acoustic classifier 120 may allow the OS 130 to do apredetermined capability, such as drawing and erasing capability, finedrawing and highlighting functionality, fine drawing and thick brushfunctionality, painting in different colors, summoning a contextualmenu, and the like.

The vibro-acoustic classifier 120 includes a segmentation unit 122 tosegment the vibro-acoustic signal into a digital representation; aconversion unit 124 to convert the digitized vibro-acoustic signal intoan electrical signal; a feature extraction unit 126 to derive a seriesof features from the electrical signal; and a classification unit 128 toclassify the touch event using the features to distinguish what tip orregion of the input tool was used for the touch event.

The segmentation unit 122 samples the vibro-acoustic signal, forexample, at a sampling rate of 96 kHz, using a sliding window of 4096samples of the vibro-acoustic signal.

The conversion unit 124 then performs, for example, a Fourier Transformon sampled time-dependent vibro-acoustic signal to produce an electricalsignal having frequency domain representation. For example, the FourierTransform of this window may produce 2048 bands of frequency power.

The vibro-acoustic classifier 120 may further down-sample this data intoadditional vectors (i.e., buckets of ten), providing a differentaliasing. In addition, additional time domain features may be calculatedfrom the vibro-acoustic signal, such as the average absolute amplitude,total absolute amplitude, standard deviation of the absolute amplitude,center of mass for both the segmented input signal and the FourierTransformed signal, and zero crossings.

The feature extraction unit 126 may also calculate a series of featuresfrom the frequency domain representation of the vibro-acoustic signals,such as the fundamental frequency of the impact waveform.

The classification unit 128 classifies the vibro-acoustic signal usingthe features to distinguish what tip or region of the input tool wasused to generate the touch event.

To aid classification, the user can provide supplemental trainingsamples to the vibro-acoustic classifier 120.

In one exemplary embodiment, the classification unit 128 may beimplemented with a support vector machine (SVM) for featureclassification. The SVM is a supervised learning model with associatedlearning algorithms that analyze data and recognize patterns, used forclassification and regression analysis.

While the present invention has been shown and described with respect tothe exemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto.It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changesand modifications may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An input tool for interacting with a touchscreen, the input tool comprising: a body in the form of a stylus, thebody having one or more vibro-acoustically distinct regions, whereineach vibro-acoustically distinct region produces a discretevibro-acoustic signal when it touches a surface of the touch screen, andthe vibro-acoustic signal is used to detect what region of the inputtool was used.
 2. The input tool of claim 1, wherein thevibro-acoustically distinct regions have different materials.
 3. Theinput tool of claim 1, wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regionshave different material properties.
 4. The input tool of claim 1,wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regions exhibit continuouslyvarying material properties.
 5. The input tool of claim 4, wherein thecontinuously varying material properties are heat-treatment gradients.6. The input tool of claim 1, wherein the vibro-acoustically distinctregions are configured to switch along the primary axis of the body. 7.The input tool of claim 1, wherein the vitro-acoustically distinctregions are formed at either end or one end of the body.
 8. The inputtool of claim 1, wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regionscomprise swappable regions formed in the body.
 9. The input tool ofclaim 1, wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regions compriseretractable regions formed in the body.
 10. A computing devicecomprising: a touch screen; an input tool having a body with one or morevibro-acoustically distinct regions, wherein each vibro-acousticallydistinct region produces a discrete vibro-acoustic signal when ittouches a surface of the touch screen; a touch event detector configuredto detect the vibro-acoustic signal resulting from the touch of thevibro-acoustically distinct region; and a vibro-acoustic classifierconfigured to distinguish which region of the input tool was used usingthe vibro-acoustic signal.
 11. The computing device of claim 10, whereinthe vibro-acoustic classifier comprises: a conversion unit configured toconvert the vibro-acoustic signal into an electrical signal; anextraction unit configured to derive a series of features representativeof the touch by the vibro-acoustically distinct region from theelectrical signal; and a classification unit configured to identify thevibro-acoustically distinct region of the input tool.
 12. The computingdevice of claim 10, wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regions aremade from different materials.
 13. The computing device of claim 10,wherein the vibro-acoustically distinct regions are made from differentmaterial properties.
 14. The computing device of claim 10, wherein thevibro-acoustically distinct regions exhibits continuously varyingmaterial properties.
 15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein thecontinuously varying material properties are a heat-treatment gradient.16. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the vibro-acousticallydistinct regions are configured to switch along the primary axis of thebody.
 17. The computing device of claim 10, wherein thevibro-acoustically distinct regions are formed at either end or one endof the body.
 18. The computing device of claim 10, wherein thevibro-acoustically distinct regions comprise swappable regions formed inthe body.
 19. The computing device of claim 10, wherein thevibro-acoustically distinct regions comprise retractable regions formedin the body.